


Boys Like Us

by arthurpseud (saintnoname)



Category: Arthur (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Binky has a crush on George, Binky is gay, Bullying, George is bi, High School, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Pining, but they're not explicitly a couple by the end which is why I didn't tag that relationship, they're in high school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20971355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintnoname/pseuds/arthurpseud
Summary: Even though they're only a few months away from graduating high school, George still gets picked on.  Binky (who now goes by Shelley) decides to do something about it.





	Boys Like Us

**Author's Note:**

> I hope it's not off-putting that I mostly refer to Binky as Shelley in this! I just have this headcanon that he starts going by his birth name when he moves on to middle school.

“_Faggot_.”

The word wasn’t directed toward Shelley, but it still stopped him in his tracks and sent a chill up his spine.

He’d never had the word directed toward him—he was big enough that nobody wanted to mess with him—but he was fully aware of the word’s power. Fully aware that in a different life, it might have been directed toward him. Fully aware that in a different life, _he_ might have been the one using that word. If he hadn’t left his bullying ways behind him in elementary school, who knew? If he’d been smaller and looked less threatening, who knew? It was these types of hypothetical questions that really bothered him.

Shelley turned to see who the word was being directed toward and felt a lump in his throat. It was George.

George still hadn’t quite hit his growth spurt at seventeen. It was entirely possible that he’d just be a short adult. Presently, he cowered against the lockers, cornered by a circle of bigger boys, one of whom was closer to him than the others.

“Why do you still carry that dummy around?” the main bully continued. “You’re in _high school_. What, is he your boyfriend or something?” The bully’s friends laughed but didn’t join in on the taunting. It was clear who the ringleader was. Shelley knew all too well. He remembered his own stint as Binky Barnes, ringleader of the Tough Customers, with something of an internal cringe. He himself had been the one taunting George too many times back in the day. Of course, at the time, he hadn’t known why he’d singled George out for torment so often. The term “internalized homophobia” hadn’t entered his mind yet. Why should it have? He was nine. He didn’t know he had a crush. He didn’t even know he liked boys. All he knew was that, according to what everyone else said, if you were a boy who liked boys, that was wrong. So it was better to be mean to them.

Nine years later and a mere few months from high school graduation, he was painfully aware of the fact that he had a crush and the fact that he liked boys (something he’d come to accept two years prior) as he stood in the hallway and watched these boys direct their homophobia toward George. 

The worst part was that Shelley was pretty sure George was straight. Throughout seven years of middle and high school, he’d never once gotten any indication that George liked boys. George had only ever dated girls, and had never mentioned anything about swinging the other way, as well. So these boys were very likely directing their homophobia toward someone who didn’t even like boys.

The fact that he was so bothered by the idea of George not liking boys really bothered him.

Shelley decided it was time to step in and put a stop to this. He put on his best impression of Binky Barnes, founder of the Tough Customers, making himself as physically imposing and intimidating as possible as he walked up to them. He was aware of how sorely outnumbered he was, but he was also aware that most of these guys were just lackeys. Most of these guys just liked acting and looking and feeling tough, mainly to make up for the fact that they weren’t _actually_ tough. The only one of them he had to_ actually_ intimidate was the ringleader. If that guy turned tail, the rest would follow.

“Hey!” Shelley called to the group, fists balled at his sides. “Leave him alone!”

The bullies and George looked over at him. The ringleader let out a chuckle of disbelief. “Who are you?”

“I’m an _actual_ faggot. So if you’re going to pick on someone for being gay, pick on me.” He smirked challengingly. “Unless you’re too scared to pick on someone who’s bigger than you.”

The boys all looked to the ringleader. George wasn’t looking at the ringleader. George was looking at Shelley. The ringleader turned to point at George. “Don’t think this is over.” He then turned to point at Shelley. “And don’t _you_ think this is over, either.” And with that, he turned and walked away. His lackeys followed suit.

Shelley’s fists unclenched and he let himself relax. 

“Hey,” he said gently as he approached George. “Are you okay? Those guys didn’t hurt you, did they?”

George’s lip quivered as he shook his head. “I’m okay.” He looked like he was about to cry.

Shelley rested a hand on George’s shoulder as he smiled reassuringly. “Hey. It’s okay. Just ignore them. In a couple of months, you’ll never have to see them again.”

George shook his head. “They were right.”

Well. Shelley wasn’t prepared for that. “They were right about what?”

“About me…being…” George inhaled and exhaled loudly. “I really do like girls, but I like boys, too.”

“_Oh_.”

George looked up at Shelley, searching the other boy’s face. “Did you mean what you said? About you being…?”

Shelley nodded. “Of course I did. Except that I don’t like girls. I only like boys. I thought the whole school knew by now.”

George gave him a self-deprecating smile. “Well, we’ve barely spent any time together since middle school.”

Hey. That was right. He and George really had drifted apart in the last four years. And it wasn’t just George: he’d drifted away from a lot of his other friends from elementary and middle school. Maybe this was the time to get back into touch with them. Now, before senior activities and graduation preparation began to commence.

But that was a thought for a different time. Right now, it was George right in front of him, and it was George he needed to be giving his attention to.

“I’m sorry I kind of disappeared on you guys,” Shelley said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to do it; it’s something that just happened.” He scratched the back of his head. “Hey, do you wanna go get a milkshake? We could get caught up. It’d be my treat.”

George fiddled with Wally, looking down. “I’m actually on my way to drama club,” he said apologetically.

Shoot, that was right: George was in drama club. They really had grown apart if he’d blanked out on something that had become such an important part of George’s life. How had he managed to maintain such a big crush on him while barely keeping up with the details of his life? Could they ever get back to where they’d been?

“But I’m free after school tomorrow,” George continued.

Shelley tried to keep a huge, excited grin from breaking out across his face. He didn’t quite succeed. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet you at the Sugar Bowl. And it’s _my_ treat,” he insisted. “To thank you for sticking up for me.”

Shelley shook his head. “That was just me doing the right thing. I wanted to pay to apologize for disappearing on you.”

But George shook his head. “I know there was a time when instead of sticking up for me, you would’ve been the one leading them. So I’ll pay, and you can make up for disappearing on me by not doing it again. Deal?”

Shelley blinked, surprised by the smaller boy. He held out his hand. “Deal.”

George shook his hand. “Tomorrow after school. Don’t forget.” He continued on his way to drama club.

Don’t forget. Right. Like he could do that.


End file.
